Customer Reviews (1)

an excellent anthology of modern horror classics
The Greatest Horror Stories of the 20th Century is truly a classis collection of horror. While the first few stories start the collection off slowly, by the time you listen to THE VIADUCT you will be hooked! Myfavorites include STICKS (about strange wooden configurations found in thewoods), THE WORDS OF GURU (about a child discovering the demons all aroundus), and especially Ray Bradbury's THE SMALL ASSASSIN (about a new motherwho believes her baby is trying to kill her). Most of the stories aregenuinely horrifying, and the audio production throughout is excellent. Iwould definitely reccomend this for those who like short horror storieslike me. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A WAY-OUT FANTASY FROM A GREAT WRITING TEAM
Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore, sci-fi's preeminent husband-and-wife writing team, eased back a bit from earlier years' prolific outputs in 1948, coming out with only four short stories and a short novel. The previous year had seen their sci-fi masterpiece "Fury" serialized in the pages of "Astounding Science-Fiction," and to follow up on that brilliant piece of work, the team switched gears, as it were, and wrote what was in essence an example of hard fantasy, "The Mask of Circe." This tale, which was first published in the May 1948 issue of "Startling Stories," finally got the book treatment it deserved in 1971. In it, Jay Seward, a modern-day psychiatrist, tells a very strange story over a Canadian campfire. As a result of some narcosynthesis research that he had been engaged in, repressed memories of his had been unearthed, and Seward realized that he was a distant lineal descendant of no less a figure than Jason, of the Golden Fleece and Argonaut fame. And before long, Seward had been mystically transported aboard the Argo herself to the isle of Aeaea, home of the sorceress Circe, and embroiled in a cosmic battle between the warring gods Apollo and Hecate. This story is perhaps one of the most way-out in the entire Kuttner-Moore canon, and for that reason, maybe, the pair thought to give it some grounding in logic and science. Thus, we are given semiplausible theories to explain not only the origin of the Grecian pantheon of gods, but also for the existence of fauns, satyrs, dryads, the Fleece itself, et al. But even with all these attempts at rationalization, the book remains quite an exercise in hard fantasy. Kuttner and Moore's admiration for the master of these types of tales, Abraham Merritt, is evident not only in the book's Canadian wilderness opening, so reminiscent of the Alaskan wilderness opening in Merritt's 1932 classic "Dwellers in the Mirage," but in the central story itself. In Merritt's "The Ship of Ishtar" (1924), archeologist John Kenton is magically transported aboard the galley of the title and becomes involved in a duel between the Babylonian gods Nergal and Ishtar. Kuttner and Moore do a very passable job, thus, of pastiching an author they admired greatly, and to its credit, "The Mask of Circe" is able to stand on its own, uh, merits. With its limbo-world setting, fantastical characters straight out of Homeric mythology (and no, a detailed knowledge of mythology is NOT a prerequisite before getting into this book), seemingly magical weapons and battling gods, the book almost makes for an hallucinatory, lysergic experience. Anyway, I would also like to advise Amazon readers to seek out the 1977 Ace paperback edition pictured above, as it contains no less than 15 beautifully rendered, full-page illustrations by an artist named Alicia Austin that greatly enhance the reading experience. Whichever edition the reader picks up, however, "The Mask of Circe" is guaranteed to provide a few evenings of wonder. Like all the works from Kuttner and/or Moore, I more than highly recommend it! ... Read more

Product Description
The forces of evil, both natural and supernatural, are poised to prey on the folk of the hamlets and hollows: witches, demons, and criminals of more than one century. But first they'll have to overcome some very unusual residents of the hills and valleys. One is David Drake's unforgettable creation, Old Nathan the Wizard. He doesn't claim much for his magical powers, but they're real enough for what they are-and besides, he hasn't forgotten how to use his long flintlock rifle. Enter the gritty, realistic world of Old Nathan, a backwoodsman who talks to animals and says he'll face the Devil himself-and who in the end will have to face the Devil in very fact. A century later, very different interlopers, from criminals to snooping college professors, are poking around the hills, up to no good. But a very unusual family, the Hogbens, are likely to cause more trouble than unwelcome visitors can handle, as Henry Kuttner relates. They're a family of mutants, with very unusual powers, and city folk who cause trouble are likely to suddenly find unbelievable-and unpleasant-things happening to them. But not all of the trouble is caused by humans, as the Slade family find out when Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor relate how a Kentucky family finds itself caught in the middle of a struggle between battling groups of the creatures who live deep underground and are the basis from the old legends of gnomes. The Slades have to make sure that the right gnomes win-or an earthquake will wipe out everyone in at least four states. Magic, mutants, and mountain folk add up to an unusual volume, with adventure ranging from the grim and eerie to the wildly comic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Worth a look
David Drake's old Nathan alone is worth the price of this book in my humble opinion and Diamonds was a good read also.

Mountains of Goodness
I can't praise this collection enough.You have collected here two classic sets of short stories, by Herny Kuttner and David Drake, and a novelette by Eric Flint and Ryk Spoor that stands with them in terms of quality.All the stories revolve around things that happen "back in the hills where outsiders don't go" and are quite good reading.Kudos to Eric Flint for putting together a most enjoyable collection.

Really Good
This book is a compendium of stories by different authors using the same basic area as a setting - the Appalachian Mountains. The first offering, Diamonds are Forever, by Flint and Spoor, I would liken to a good light beer - great taste, less filling. David Drake's Old Nathan short stories are like a dark, heavy lager- a meal in themselves, complex, perhaps not to everyone's taste but uniquely satisfying. Kutner's Hogben stories are good old-fashioned SF - a Michelob, say. All in all, this book has enough differing tastes to satisfy any reader, and more than meets Robert Heinlein's goal of successfully competing for beer money.

I only wrote 1/3 of this one...
... and I think the other 2/3 are really good company to be in.

The third that I wrote (with Eric Flint) is "Diamonds Are Forever". I wish the blurb didn't spoiler it quite so much -- some of the things in the blurb are supposed to be revelations in the story. Anyway, "Diamonds" was very fun to write and I think anyone who liked my prior book "Digital Knight" will enjoy "Diamonds".

By itself, I'd probably not quite feel comfortable handing "Diamonds" a 5 star rating; it's a good, fun read, but I know I have a long way to go before I'm at the top level.

However, the other two-thirds of "Mountain Magic" are solidly five-star material. David Drake's "Old Nathan" stories may well be the best thing Drake has ever written, complex, somber, quirky, and surprisingly touching in places. The Old Nathan stories were printed before, but were sadly limited in their distribution for various reasons; it's good they're finally getting a new release.

Kuttner's "Hogben" stories have been undeservedly out-of-print for a long time; they are humorously macabre stories of one of the most bizarre families ever invented, by one of the lesser-known great authors of SF.

Get "Mountain Magic"; you won't be disappointed!

Ryk E. Spoor ... Read more

Product Description
This Halcyon Classics ebook contains four novels by 20th century science fiction writer Henry Kuttner, including THE CREATURE FROM BEYOND INFINITY.Originally published as a pulp novella, THE CREATURE FROM BEYOND INFINITY is set on a future Earth that is being 'farmed' for talent by alien invaders.The aliens seek human geniuses to help them solve intractable problems.

This ebook is DRM free and includes an active table of contents for easy navigation.


Contents:

The Dark World
The Creature from Beyond Infinity
The Time Axis
The Valley of the Flame
... Read more

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Science-Fiction ... Read more

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CONTENTS
Introduction: Ben Bova
CALL ME JOE, Poul Anderson
WHO GOES THERE?, John W. Campbell, Jr. (as Don A. Stuart)
NERVES, Lester del Rey
UNIVERSE, Robert A. Heinlein
THE MARCHING MORONS, C. M. Kornbluth
VINTAGE SEASON, Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore (as Lawrence O'Donnell)
.. . AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, Eric Frank Russell
THE BALLAD OF LOST C'MELL, Cordwainer Smith
BABY IS THREE, Theodore Sturgeon
THE TIME MACHINE, H. G. Wells
WITH FOLDED HANDS, Jack Williamson ... Read more

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Word count: 2348. ... Read more